Proposed Private Sector Pension Scheme:

Draft Bill in House only after amendments

by L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

Amendments to the proposed Private Sector Pension Scheme will be made only after constructive proposals are submitted by trade unions, political parties and employers, said Labour and Labour Relations Minister Gamini Lokuge.

He said that the Draft Bill with the amendments will be referred to the National Labour Advisory Council of the Ministry before it is presented in Parliament for the Second Reading.

The proposed Private Sector Employees’ Pension Fund will be managed by the government ensuring a higher guarantee in the interests of the employees. The Monetary Board of the Central Bank will administer the Fund after its approval by the Auditor General, the minister said.

He said that the government has decided to allocate Rs. 1,000 million for the Pension Fund. The proposed pension scheme will however, encourage employees to work longer periods, he said.

Only two percent of the full EPF remitances will be transferred to the pension fund after the employee’s retirement. The remaining 98 percent of the EPF fund will lie to the credit of the employee, the minister said. The pension scheme will provide several benefits to private sector employees in their twilight years, said Finance Ministry Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera.

At present only 20 percent of the senior citizens benefit under the government servants’ pension scheme. The proposed private sector pension scheme will ensure a regular income for private sector employees even after their retirement, Dr. Jayasundera said.

Dr. Jayasundera said that many people opposed the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) when it was introduced by the MEP government in 1958.

Labour and Labour Relations Ministry Secretary Upali Wijayaweera said that an awareness program will be launched islandwide to educate private sector employees. The first of such meetings was held at the Biyagama Free Trade Zone yesterday.